I'll Be Home For Christmas
by LunarEclipse360
Summary: Troy promised his mother he would visit for Christmas this year, but an unexpected circumstance forces him to find a different way to get home. Along with the pretty brunette he met in the airport, he races to get home by Christmas Eve.
1. Chapter 1

**I'll Be Home For ****Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse 360_

**A/N: I'm sorry for not posting this on Thanksgiving. I wanted to, but I wasn't satisfied with what I wrote and I decided a while ago that I didn't want to put out something that I wasn't happy about. But, getting around that, I present to you my new Christmas story. How many chapters will it have? I have no idea, but I know that it won't go past 10 chapters. Also, forgive any grammar or spelling mistakes, this story will not be looked over by my beta.**_  
><em>

Chapter 1

_I'm dreaming tonight_

_Of a place I love_

_Even more than I usually do_

_And although I know_

_It's a long road back_

_I promise you_

::

**December 22**

Home.

It hadn't crossed his mind as much as it had in the past few weeks. He hadn't even realized how much he missed it until he was listening to his mother beg him to come home for the Christmas holiday. There was a part of him that hadn't wanted to say 'yes,' but he couldn't possibly deny her; not when she sounded so vulnerable. Thinking back on it, however, he wished he hadn't. Going home meant facing his father. Going home meant confronting the problems he left behind. He didn't think he was ready for it. He knew he wasn't ready for it.

At twenty-seven, Troy was the youngest member of his company to be a top executive; a feat that he spent years working hard to achieve. But success comes with its pros and cons. The con being that his social life was non-existent. The pro being that he could get out of returning home. In all honesty, he hadn't stepped foot inside the house he grew up in since he was twenty-one. After an argument with his father, he stopped going home. His mother tried to convince him to come home, but he always made an excuse that he was too busy with work. It was wrong, yes, especially since his mother was just an innocent bystander in the feud between him and his father, but he just couldn't face the man. But years of being angry at him didn't seem to suppress the longing to see the woman who gave birth to him.

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he pressed the intercom on his desk. "Martha, I need you to book a seat on the next flight to New York for me."

"Any particular airport?"

"JFK, if you can."

"It's going to be difficult, seeing as Christmas is in two days, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Martha."

"No problem, boss."

Sighing, he turned his attention to the window, staring down at the street below. Although his mother had called almost a week ago, begging him to come home, he had put off booking a flight to New York. He was still on the fence about going back, but figured there were two outcomes to trying to get a flight just two days before. He could either get a seat on the next flight or he could not which would result in him having to call his mother and make up some excuse about why he couldn't come after he had already said he was going. For the sake of not having to hear the disappointment in his mother's voice, he hoped that Martha, his secretary, could find him a flight.

"Mr. Bolton," the intercom chirped.

"Yes, Martha?"

"I've gotten you a seat on a flight that leaves tonight at nine."

"Is that the earliest one?"

"It's the only one."

"Alright. Print out the conformation number and leave it on your desk before you go home."

"Yes, sir."

::

"Mr. Bolton." Lifting his gaze from the papers in front of him, he looked into the warm brown eyes of his secretary. "I'm leaving, and if you don't leave soon, you're going to be late for your flight."

"I'm just going to finish these, then I'll be on my way."

"Alright," she responded, a bit skeptical, "well, I guess I'll see you when you get back." He nodded. "Good night."

"Night, and Merry Christmas."

She smiled. "Merry Christmas to you, too, Mr. Bolton."

His bright blue eyes watched her disappear from the doorframe. Returning to the pile of papers, he quickly went over the remaining ones; signing what needed to be signed. When he finished, he filed them away in his desk and stood. He looked at his phone and figured he had just enough time to run home, change, pack, and get to the airport. He was cutting it close, but he was confident he could make it.

In record time, Troy made it home and quickly changed out of his suit and into something a bit more comfortable. He packed the first things he could get his hands on and placed the suitcase into the trunk of his car. Without breaking any laws, he sped towards the airport, hoping not to get caught in traffic. He parked in the long term lot and quickly went to check in. He was surprised about the amount of people that were traveling, but hoped that he would be able to make it through security before it was time for his plane to board.

As he stood on line for the security check point, his mind began to wander. Without meaning to, he thought back to the last time he saw his parents; back to that fight that he'd gotten into with his father. The fight that ended with Troy catching the first flight back to L.A. He hated to reminisce about that night, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more he thought about it. Sighing, he brought his mind back to the present and noticed that he had reached the end of the line. Grabbing on of the bins, he began to unfasten his belt; placing it, his sneakers and his jacket into one of the large containers to put through the x-ray machine. He took off his watch and turned off his cellphone before dropping both into a smaller, rounder container and handing it to the man on the other side of the machine. He, then, proceed to step through the metal detector when the TSA agent gave him the green light to do so. Once cleared, he retrieved his things; slipping his sneakers and belt back to their appropriate places.

He reached his designated gate within minutes and took a seat in the waiting area. Turning back on his phone, he checked the time to see how long until boarding took place. Seeing he still had a few minutes, the black iPhone went into his pocket and he sat back into his seat. His eyes scanned the terminal around him, watching the various people. Looking towards the window, he stared at the stationary 747 as it waited to be boarded.

"Excuse me." Turning towards the voice, he was nearly knocked breathless by the pair of coffee-colored eyes staring back at him. "I think this is yours," she said, holding out the iPhone that he swore he had just placed into his pocket. Searching the offending pocket that he thought he put it in, he found that his phone was, in fact, not there and the one in her hand was, indeed, his.

"Thank you," he said, taking it from her. "I didn't even realize that I completely missed my pocket."

She smiled. "Well, then it's a good thing that I saw it and not someone else. Who knows what they would have done."

He returned the smile, finding hers to be contagious. "Certainly is." He held out his hand to her. "I'm Troy Bolton," he said, figuring he'd introduce himself.

"Gabriella Montez." She placed her hand in his and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, Gabriella."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Attention all passengers on all flights going to the Mid-west and the Northeast," came a voice over the loud speaker, "because of a possible blizzard forming in the Northern Rockies, all flights are delayed until further notice."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, though speaking to no one. "Looks like we'll be here for a while."

"Looks like it," he answered, motioning to the seat next to him. Taking the hint, she grinned and sat down beside him.

"So…do you live in L.A.?" she asked, continuing the conversation.

"I do. You?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "I'm just…visiting."

"Oh? Visiting who?"

"My mom."

"You're not going to stay with her through the holiday?"

She shook her head. "No. I wish I could, but I can't."

"How come?"

"Because I told my sister that I would be home by Christmas."

"You live with your sister?"

"No. I live a couple houses away, but Christmas…Christmas has always been a hard time for my sister, especially after her daughter was born, and I've always been there to help her when she needed it. This year is no different."

"What about her husband? I mean, if she's married."

"She is, but he's in the military."

"I see. It must be hard for her; knowing that he's risking his life and everything."

"It is, but she's proud of him and as long as she knows he's alive and well, she continues to live her life like nothing's wrong."

"That's good."

"So, who are you on your way to visit?"

"My parents," he answered with much reluctance.

"You don't sound too happy about it."

"I am, I just…haven't seen them in a while and I'm scared that they'll be upset about that."

"I'm sure that they'll be happy to see you."

Nodding, he ran a hand through his auburn hair and glanced around. He knew lying to her was wrong, but he found no need to tell her everything. Besides, she was technically a stranger to him.

"I hope that this delay doesn't take too long. I really want to get home."

"If you don't mind me asking, where is home for you?"

"New York."

"Oh? What part?"

"Hempstead, Long Island."

He grinned. "Really? I'm from Levittown."

"You're joking," she said, bright smile on her face.

"I am not."

"Wow. Small world, huh?"

"It is. I would have never thought I would have ran into a fellow Long Islander this far west."

"Neither did I." Out of habit, he took a look at his phone to check the time and found that it was nearing ten o'clock. "Hey, since we have no idea how long this delay will go on for, you wanna get something to eat?"

Her smile softened and she nodded. "Sure. I haven't eaten since lunch anyway."

Standing, he waited for her to follow before they began walking. "Anything in particular you want?"

"Not really."

"Alright, then anything's possible."

::

Within minutes, Troy found himself sitting across from her in the food court. It was the only real food area that they could find on this side of the security gate. They both decided on Chinese food and he offered to pay for her, but she declined, saying that it made it seem like they were on a date. So, she paid for her own order and they found a table not far from the hallway that led back to their gate. Conversation was light while they ate and he saw this as an opportunity to look her over. He took in the dark color of her straight, jet black hair as it fell to a point just below her shoulders. She kept the front of her hair in bangs that fell just short of her russet eyes. Her skin was toffee-colored and when she smiled, that same skin was pushed back to reveal her high cheek bones. He could not deny that she was an attractive woman.

"How old are you?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Her eyes lifted, connecting with his, and answered, "Twenty-five."

"Really?" She nodded. "You look younger than that."

"I get that a lot. What about you; how old are you?"

"Twenty-seven."

"I never would have thought you were that old."

He lifted a brow. "You say it like I'm ancient."

"I…I wasn't…I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Gabriella," he said, a grin on his face. "I was only joking."

"Oh."

He chuckled. "You finished?"

When she nodded, he stood and took both her tray and his to the nearest garbage can. He turned back to the table and found her glancing around. He walked towards her, catching her attention, and smiled.

"Ready to go back?"

She smiled and stood. "Lead the way."

Silence blanketed the air between them as they walked in the direction of their gate. It wasn't an awkward one though. It was rather comfortable for two people who didn't really know one another. Troy glanced over at her, wanting to say something to break the silence, but she spoke up before he got a chance to.

"So, how long have you lived in L.A.?"

"Since I was twenty-one."

"Wow, that long?"

"Yeah. I attended UCLA and after graduation, I just stayed."

"You like it here?"

"Pretty much, though I do miss New York."

"And by that answer, I'm guessing you don't go back very often."

He shook his head. "I don't."

"Why not?"

"It's…complicated."

She opened her mouth to speak, but an announcement over the loud speaker interrupted her and caught both of their attentions.

"Attention all passengers, due to inclement weather, all flights to the Mid-west and the Northeast have been cancelled. I repeat, due to inclement weather, all flights to the Mid-west and the Northeast have been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" Gabriella said, running a hand through her hair. "So what are we supposed to do; wait until the storm passes?"

"I guess so."

"But who knows how long that could take." She sighed. "I'm going to ask someone if they know if the storm will let up any time soon."

"Alright." He waited until she was thoroughly engaged in conversation with the woman behind the counter before pulling out his phone. Quickly, he dialed his parents' number and hoped that his mother would answer and not his dad.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Ma, it's me."

"_Troy! Hi, sweetheart."_

"Listen, I'm at the airport and…"

"_Oh? What time does your plane get in?"_

"It doesn't…at least not any time soon."

"_Why not?"_

"There's a blizzard making its way across the country and they cancelled all flights to the Northeast."

"_So…you're not coming then?"_ she asked, the disappointment like a knife in Troy's heart.

"Of course I am, Mom, just…not tonight."

"_When?"_

"I'm not sure, but I'll find a way to get home. I promise."

"_Just be safe, alright?"_

"I will."

"_And I guess I'll see you…"_

"Christmas Eve, I'm assuming."

"_Christmas Eve, then. I love you."_

"Love you, too, Mom. Bye."

"_Bye."_

Just as he ended the call, Gabriella walked up to him; annoyance written in her coffee eyes. He tilted his head slightly, non-verbally expressing an interest in knowing what the employees told her.

"We're screwed."

"What did they say?"

"That they don't know how long the storm is going to last and that there's a chance that no one's going anywhere until after Christmas."

"But people have places to go. What do they expect them to do?"

"No idea." She sighed and took out her phone. "I guess I'll have to call my sister and tell her that I won't make it in time." The disappointment in her voice was obvious. He watched as she walked away from him, taking a seat as she waited for her sister to pick up the phone.

As she divulged in a conversation with her sibling, Troy thought about how he could get to New York. There was always the bus…but he didn't want to be sitting in such close quarters for the amount of time that was needed to get from California to the East Coast, even with the stops in between. He could take the train…but who knows what the railways look like during the storm. If the planes were screwed, the trains weren't any better. Driving himself was his last option. He had always wanted to take a road trip, he just never had time for it.

"Well, she's not angry," Gabriella said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Which is good, right?"

She nodded and smiled, though it seemed half-heartedly. "I just _wish_ I could find another way to get home. Maybe I could take the bus."

"How does a road trip sound?"

"A road trip?" she repeated. "I guess it's better than staying here."

"You know how to drive?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Follow me."


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll Be Home For Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: so, it is now 4:20 in the morning and I've been up all night trying to finish this chapter for you guys. Sorry I kept you waiting for so long. School had me stressed out. I know that this chapter seems to go a bit fast, but the story will slow down a bit by the next one. If you find any spelling or grammar errors, please feel free to point them out to me so I can fix them. I own no rights to Christina Aguilera's _Christmas __Time_.**

Chapter 2

He walked with purpose as he strode past the security checkpoint towards the customer service desk. Gabriella followed behind him, trying not to lose him in the crowd of people. At one point, she tripped and nearly hit the ground. Quick reflexes allowed him to catch her before she fell and his blue eyes reflected concern for her. She smiled, signaling that she was fine, and he returned it. He helped her regain her footing and grasped her hand, holding it tightly in his grip. They continued towards the customer service desk, this time without worry that one would lose the other. A line formed in front of their destination and an inaudible sigh escaped his lips. He guessed they weren't the only ones who decided to grab their luggage and find another way to get to the other side of the country.

"I hope this doesn't take too long," he mumbled.

"Are we getting a rental? Cause I can go and do that while you wait online."

"No, we're taking my car."

"You sure you wanna drive that all the way to the East Coast and then have to drive it all the way back?"

He shrugged. "Beats having to dish out money to rent a car. Besides, I feel more comfortable driving my own vehicle than one that I'm not familiar with."

She tilted her head. "So, you're a cheapskate and you have a mild form of OCD or something."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not cheap and I don't have OCD or anything like that. I don't have to take you with me, I was just being nice."

"Sorry," she said, realizing that she crossed a line with her comment. "I didn't mean to say that."

Looking at Gabriella, he realized how sorry she truly was and regretted saying what he had. Sighing, he scratched the back of his neck; a habit when he was nervous, upset, embarrassed or regretful. "It's fine. I'm sorry for what I said."

"You had every right to. I mean, it was your idea to do this, so I should just be grateful that you decided to include me."

"No, I didn't have every right to; not with the way I said it."

A small smile crept onto her lips. "I'll forgive you, if you forgive me."

"Deal," he responded, a grin on his face.

Going back to the situation at hand, they turned to the long line in front of them; both staying relatively quiet as they waited for it to move. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for them to reach the front of the line. Before they knew it, they were next to be seen by a service representative.

"Next." Troy stepped up to the counter, but Gabriella stayed behind; knowing that she had to be seen separately. "How may I help you, sir?"

"I was wondering if it was possible to get my luggage back."

"You had it checked in?" He nodded. "Alright, I'm just going to need your name."

"Troy Bolton."

"And your flight number?" she asked, after typing his name into the computer.

"Flight 2410."

"Okay." Her fingers clacked away at the keyboard as she searched the database for his bag. "Here we are. Flight 2410 to New York, JFK." He nodded. "I'm guessing you won't be flying with us."

"No. I don't know how long that storm's gonna last, but I need to get to New York."

She nodded. "Okay, I'm just going to request its release and I'm going to need you to go to the airline office at the other end of this terminal in order to pick it up."

"That's fine."

"Just make sure you have ID on you."

"I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday."

A smile found his way to his lips before he walked away; waiting for Gabriella at the other end of the counter. When she appeared at his side moments later, they headed to the far side of the airport to the airline office to retrieve their bags. Once both of their luggage was in their possession, Troy led the brunette to the parking lot and to his black Mercedes-Benz CLS550 coupe. The woman stared in awe at the vehicle. She had never known someone so young to own such a car.

"Are you rich or something?" she asked as he opened the trunk.

Smirking, he glanced back at her and shrugged. "Or something." He motioned for her to hand over her suitcase and she did so willingly. "I'm the youngest executive at my company."

"Really?" she asked, her curiosity spiking. "And what is it that you do?"

"Sports marketing."

"Sounds interesting," she said, though the tone in her voice suggested otherwise.

He chuckled and closed the trunk. "Despite what you might think, I actually like my job. I've always been knee deep in sports stuff anyway, so I thought why not turn it into something productive." Like the gentleman that he was, he went to the passenger door and held it open for you.

She smiled softly as she slid into the seat; watching as he closed the door behind her. He walked around to the other side and took his place in the driver's seat. Inserting the key into the ignition, the car roared to life and he reached up behind him to grab the seatbelt. She followed suit and strapped herself in. He entered the address of his parents' residence into the GPS system and pulled out of the parking spot. Within minutes, they were heading towards the exit of the garage.

"So when you say knee deep in sports stuff, what do you mean exactly?" she asked as they drove out into the night.

He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "To put it plain and simple, my house was a sports house. There was never a day that went by that my dad wasn't watching some game; whether it would be baseball, basketball, football, hockey or soccer, my dad watched it and he would make me watch it with him."

"And I'm just going to take a wild guess and say that you were an athlete in school."

Nodding, he glanced at her. "You're right; I was in high school and all throughout college."

"What sport?"

"Basketball. My dad was the coach of my high school team and he drilled the game into my head since before I could talk. I learned how to shoot a basketball before I learned how to walk."

"Wow. Talk about dedicated."

He chuckled, albeit bitterly. "Not dedicated, obsessed is more like it. My dad was obsessed with me living out the dream that he wanted for me…even though I had a different dream."

"And what was that dream?"

"Honestly?" he asked, a grin forming on his face. "I wanted to be a rock star."

"Really?" A soft smile made its way to her face.

"Yeah. I even formed a band in high school with three of my best friends and I was good at it, too, but my dad thought it was a stupid dream." He shook his head. "As if the dream of becoming a professional basketball player was any better. At least when I played with my band, I was happy. Playing the game, I mean don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

She shifted in her seat, turning to face him. "So, how did Troy Bolton, rock star, turn into Troy Bolton, sports marketer?"

He sighed heavily and gripped the steering wheel. "He grew up."

Feeling that he wanted to end the conversation, she turned back to face the windshield and let the silence consume them. Long forgotten emotions bubbled within his chest as he drove out of Los Angeles. He couldn't blame Gabriella for causing him to talk about the dreams of his teenaged self, she hadn't known the pain behind the reason why he gave it up. Still, it upset him to think about those days. They stayed quiet for a while; neither one bothering to speak. Finally, an hour into their journey, he spoke up; wanting to know more about his female companion.

"So, tell me, what do you do for a living?"

"I teach ballet to children."

"Sounds fun."

She smiled. "It is. It's so rewarding to watch a child come in with no experience whatsoever and see them grow over time."

"What made you want to be a ballet teacher?"

"Like you, I've been doing ballet for most of my life. My mother enrolled me in a class when I was four and I never stopped. I love it. I've even taken on other dance styles. It's so…_freeing_…to just let go and put all of your emotions into your movements."

His lips upturned as he listened to her. She spoke with passion as she continued to tell him about her profession. Never had he met a woman who was so into what she did for a living. It was a change from many of the women he worked with who hated their jobs. Suddenly, she stopped talking and he glanced over at her, wondering why.

"I'm rambling, aren't I?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. It's actually a fresh breath of air to listen to a woman talk so passionately about her job than to listen to one who could care less about it."

"Not many people go for a job they love, they just go for the ones that pay the bills."

"Unfortunate, but true."

Shifting, she rested her elbow beside the window and ran her hand through her hair. "How long, exactly, is it going to take us to get to New York?"

"A day and a couple of hours. Why; already getting sick of me?" he asked, grinning.

"Not at all," she answered, her own grin on her face. "Just curious."

He glanced at her; still grinning from ear to ear. He watched as she reached for the radio, stopping to get his permission. He nodded and she switched it on, scanning the stations for something to listen to. She came to a station that was playing back to back Christmas music and stopped. Her mouth moved to the words, but no sound came out as she stared out the window. His grin turned into a small smile and tapped his finger to the beat of the song on the steering wheel. In all honesty, he had been skeptical at first about this little road trip he suggested; unsure if he would regret it. But, he was starting to enjoy it. True, it might take a while to get to their destination, but he doubted that this trip would be anything but boring.

::

**December 23**

Six hours later, the pair had arrived in St. George, Utah. It took some convincing on his part to get Gabriella to see that stopping in Las Vegas to gamble for an hour or two was not a good idea at the moment, since they were on a time schedule. She finally saw reasoning and, with a disappointed sigh, resolved to watching the infamous casinos of Sin City from afar. Only needing to refuel his car, Troy stopped at a local gas station and Gabriella took that opportunity to go inside the store and shop for food. He watched her through the window the entire time; his eyes following her as she weaved through one aisle after the next. It was a good ten minutes later that she finally found her way to the cash register and he was certain that she had bought up the whole store. She emerged with bags after bags of just junk food and drinks (energy drinks, soda, juice and water).

"Sure you got everything, cause I swear you left something behind," he said, jokingly.

"Ha-ha. You're so funny."

He chuckled before opening the door for her. "I know."

She rolled her eyes and got in; mumbling something that sounded like 'smug son-of-a-bitch', which caused him to laugh harder. Closing the door behind her, he walked to the other side and climbed in. Soon, they were back on the Interstate; heading in the direction of Denver, Colorado.

"How long until we get to Denver?"

"Ten hours."

She wrinkled her nose in confusion; an action he found rather cute. "You sure you can drive that long without sleep?" she asked, concerned about his well-being. "I can take over in a couple of hours, if you want."

"I'll be fine. When we get to Denver, we'll switch off."

"If you say so."

"In the meantime, you should eat something and then try to get some sleep."

Nodding in agreement, she reached into her bag of goodies and pulled out a bag of chips. She ate them in silence as she watched the world go by; the only sound was that of her eating and the radio. Troy kept his attention on the highway, though sometimes the music would drift into his ears and he would bob his head to the song. A soft gasp resounded beside him and he chanced a glance to Gabriella, wondering what caused her to make that sound.

"I love this song," she said, before turning up the volume.

Smiling, she began to sing along and dance within the confines of her seatbelt. Troy laughed at the hyperactive female as she moved like she wasn't inside of a car. Her energy made him want to join along, but his responsibility to driving prevented him. Instead, he nodded his head with the beat of the song.

**When I was young, every Christmas Eve I could not sleep**

**Trying to catch that old Saint Nick leaving presents under my tree**

**And every year, I'd fall asleep laying in my bed**

**Dreaming of a million sugar plums dancing in my head**

**Oh, how much joy it is at Christmastime**

**Spirit of giving is in our lives**

**Oh, how much joy it brings to see the ones you love**

**This year's going to be the best Christmas because…**

**There'll be family and Christmas cheer**

**Peace and goodwill to all men**

**Everybody is home for Christmas**

**Everybody is home**

**Sneaking a kiss under the mistletoe**

**I want a white Christmas so let it snow**

**Everybody is home for Christmas**

**Everybody is home this Christmastime.**

Although she sung low, he could still hear her voice and he had to admit, she sounded pretty good. He grinned as she continued to the next verse, the volume of her voice increasing slightly. He had a feeling that if he had known her in high school, he would have asked her to join his band. Yes, there weren't many bands that had a male and female lead singer, but that didn't mean they couldn't exist. Keeping his eyes on the road, he listened to her belt out the words to the song with confidence like she'd done it before.

**Sneaking a kiss under the mistletoe**

**I want a white Christmas so let it snow**

**Everybody is home for Christmas**

**Everybody is home this Christmastime**

"Ever thought of becoming a professional singer?" he asked, interrupting her from continuing on with the song.

"No. I mean, I like it, but I couldn't see myself living that life. Not much privacy, you know?" He nodded. "Besides, I get nervous singing in front of a large group of people. I'd never be able to perform in front of an entire audience."

"That's too bad. Your voice is amazing."

"Really?" He wordlessly nodded 'yes' and she smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

::

Reaching the twelve hour mark since they began their journey, Troy found himself driving into a rest stop just outside of Grand Junction, Colorado; four hours away from Denver. His companion had fallen asleep well over three hours ago and had remained that way, leaving him to drive with just the radio as background noise. Pulling into a parking space, he turned off the engine and turned to the woman beside him. He gently shook her awake and watched as she slowly opened her brown eyes.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around.

"Just outside Grand Junction, Colorado." Nodding, she stretched slightly and he had to avert his eyes when a sliver of skin appeared beneath her risen clothing. Out of nowhere, her stomach began to growl and she blushed in embarrassment. He chuckled and removed his seatbelt. "Come on. Let's go get something to eat."

She followed close behind as they walked into the rest stop. Her eyes took in the variety of fast food services that the building housed and tried to decide on one. Troy made it known to her that he didn't care what she chose, but while she was choosing, he would be in the restroom. After she acknowledged what he had said, he disappeared into the direction of the bathrooms. When he returned, he found her on the line that led to Burger King and went to stand beside her.

"Know what you want?" he asked.

"Yep. You?"

"Working on it."

By the time they reached the register, he had picked out what he wanted and they ordered their food. After paying for it and being handed two trays with food atop, they headed for the seating area. Conversation was kept to a minimum as they both realized how hungry they truly were. Within minutes, they'd finished eating and Troy advised her to visit the restroom before they left. She followed his advice and did so before they headed back to the car.

"Is it weird that I'm still hungry?" she asked.

"No, but you have all of those snacks, so you can eat those."

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about that bag."

"You forgot you nearly cleaned out that gas station back in St. George?" he asked, teasingly.

"I did not!"

"You did, too."

"I did not," she said, pushing his shoulder, playfully.

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and pulled her flush against him. "You did, too," he answered; his voice low, a smirk on his face.

She blushed, profusely, at the closeness of their bodies and he noticed. Realizing what he'd done, he released her hand and stepped away from her, clearing his throat to alleviate the awkwardness. They continued towards the car in complete silence. Once they had restarted their journey, Gabriella slipped back into dreamland while Troy drove the remaining four hours into Denver.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'll Be Home For Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So, if you haven't figured it out, I will not be done with this story by Christmas like I wanted to. The only way that will happen is if I make the chapters shorter than what they are and I don't want to do that. Hopefully, though I will have Chapter 4 done by Christmas since I have nothing to do for the next two days. If not, though, I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. And if there are any Jewish readers out there, Happy Hanukkah. P.S. if there are any spelling or grammar errors please point them out to me.**_  
><em>

Chapter 3

Troy fought hard to keep himself awake as they neared Denver, but he was failing miserably. Beside him, Gabriella sat wide awake, worried that he might crash the car if he kept going this way. They still had at least two more hours before the arrived into the city, but she doubted that he would last that long. She called his name, but he didn't seem to hear her. He looked awake, but his mind was, borderline, dead to the world. It wasn't until she touched his arm that he seemed to pull himself out of whatever zone he was in. Glancing at her, his blue eyes reflected exhaustion and curiosity.

"How about we switch off?"

He shook his head. "I can make it."

"Troy, we've still got two hours before we reach Denver and you're barely awake. Just…let me drive from here on until you've rested."

He knew she was right, and, so, he nodded and pulled over to the side of the highway. Switching seats, Troy silently thanked the brunette for suggesting the change as he settled into the passenger side. The longer he stayed awake, the more he put himself and his companion in danger of getting into a serious accident. Fastening his seatbelt, he made himself comfortable and leant his head against the window. He watched the world pass by as Gabriella resumed their journey down the interstate; his eyes dropping slowly. It didn't take long before Troy was fast asleep. Glancing towards him, Gabriella smiled when she realized that he was out cold before turning back to the road, humming softly to a tune on the radio.

::

"Troy."

Someone was calling his name. He could hear the voice, soft and inviting, but he had no idea where it was coming from. Suddenly, his entire body shook and he could feel the darkness slowly ebbing away. When he opened his electric blue eyes, he found himself staring at a frosted window while a feminine voice called from behind him. Hearing his name once more slip from her lips, he turned his head and came face to face with the warm coffee-colored eyes of his female traveling partner. The corner of her lips upturned when his gaze locked with hers and she placed her hand on his upper arm.

"Hey, sleepy head," she said, "you hungry?"

He nodded and sat up, stretching. "Are we close to somewhere or…" He stopped, seeing a small diner outside of the window. "Where are we?"

"Julesburg, Colorado."

A sound of acknowledgement escaped from the back of his throat. "How long was I out for?"

"Five hours."

He yawned. "No wonder why I still feel exhausted."

"I would be surprised if you didn't; I mean, you had to have been awake for at least twenty-four hours or more." She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. "Sure you wanna eat, or do you just wanna sleep more?"

"I'll eat," he answered, opening the door.

Leaning against his car, he rubbed his eyes to try and rid himself of some of his exhaustion. He turned his head and saw Gabriella staring at him with a bit of concern written in her brown eyes. He smiled reassuringly before pushing off of the car and following her into the diner. The bell over the door rung to signal their entrance and almost all heads turned their way. Ignoring them, Troy spotted an empty table and directed Gabriella in its immediate direction. They took a seat across from each other and waited for someone to serve them.

"Hello," said a stout woman as she stopped in front of their table. "My name's Ida, and I'll be your waitress this fine evening." She passed them menus. "Anything I can get you to drink?"

"Just water," Gabriella answered.

"And you, handsome?"

He grinned. "A coffee, please."

"How would you like it?"

"Black."

She nodded and placed her pen behind her ear. "Alright. Be back in a sec."

It didn't take him long to look over the menu and pick out what he wanted. He had always found it easy for him to decide simple things, but looking over at Gabriella, he found that she didn't have that same ability. He stared at her; squirming slightly when she bit her bottom lip. It wasn't as if he could help himself from placing his thoughts in places they shouldn't be. He couldn't recall the last time he'd been with a woman and, at the moment, he was stuck with an attractive woman for the next twenty-two hours. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked up and noticed the uncomfortable expression on his face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just…" He sighed and leant his head on the table, "tired."

She smiled, amusedly. "Don't blame me. You're the one who'd rather eat than sleep."

Grunting in response, he glared playfully at her. "Well, would you rather I _not_ eat and then become useless when you want to switch off?"

"No, but you won't be any use if you're exhausted."

She had a point. "Okay, then, here's what we'll do: We'll drive along the interstate and the first motel you come across, we'll stop and rest for a couple of hours."

Sitting back in her seat, she thought it over before nodding. "Sounds reasonable."

"I'm back," Ida said as she placed their beverages in front of them. "So are you ready to order?"

Troy looked at Gabriella. "You ready?"

Her eyes widened when she realized that had yet to pick something. Quickly, she opened the menu and scanned through it. "Uh…yeah, I think so."

"If you need another minutes, sweetheart, I can come back."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I'm ready."

"Okay, then lay it on me," she said, getting her pen and pad ready.

He was the first to respond, telling the woman that he wanted a well-done bacon burger with a side of fries, and watched her write down everything. Their gazes turned to Gabriella, who spoke up quickly, saying that she only wanted a roast beef sandwich with a Caesar salad. Ida responded with a comment about not having enough meat on her bones, in which Gabriella laughed and a responded that she wasn't all that hungry. Ida shrugged and smiled, walking away.

"So, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Troy said, turning her attention towards him. Her brown eyes expressed silent curiosity, telling him to continue. "You said that you were a dancer for most of your life, so that means that you've done actual ballets, right?"

She nodded. "I have. I've been in the Nutcracker a few times; both as Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The ballet school I attended did it every Christmas. When I first started, though, I was just a back-up dancer. It took me awhile to land the more important roles. I've also been in Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, A Midsummer's Night Dream and Don Quixote."

"No Swan Lake." Her eyes widened, shocked at his knowledge of ballets. As if knowing what she was thinking, he shrugged and said, "I saw _Black Swan._"

Grinning, she shook her head. "I should have known."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that it's not easy to find a man who's actually interested in stuff like that. Most men would rather go to a sports game than to go to a ballet."

"Well," he started, looking anywhere but at her, "I wouldn't, exactly, _mind_ going to see one."

"Really?" she asked, a bit of disbelief in her voice.

"Yeah. I mean, if my girlfriend wanted to go see a ballet, I wouldn't mind going with her if it made her happy."

She smiled. "She's very lucky, then."

He scoffed. "She has to exist first."

"She does, you just haven't found her yet."

Blue eyes met brown and the two stared at each other before they were interrupted by Ida returning with their food. The second the rotund woman made her presence known, gazes were dropped and turned to their server. She looked at them with a knowing sparkle in her eyes before setting the plates of food in front of them. She glanced between the two and wished them a good dinner before walking away. Still feeling a bit awkward about their 'staring contest,' Troy kept his eyes on his food.

"So," he started, wanting to get rid of the silence, "is there a boyfriend back on Long Island?"

"There is not," she answered and he glanced up at her.

"Oh? Why not?"

She shrugged. "I guess I just haven't found someone."

"That's too bad."

"Not really. I mean, I do get lonely sometimes when I'm somewhere by myself, but I'm enjoying my freedom."

"Enjoying it while you can, right?"

"Exactly," she answered with a smile.

"But you've had boyfriends before, right?"

Nodding, she picked up her sandwich. "A few in high school, but they never lasted long," she answered before taking a bite out of her food.

"How come?" He took a bite out of his burger.

Shrugging, she waited until she swallowed. "I don't know. My sister told me it was because they weren't good enough for me and I'm starting to wonder if maybe she was right."

"Do you think they were good enough for you?"

"I thought they were, but I was sixteen so what did I know." She took a sip of her water. "What about you? Have you had girlfriend's in the past? Wait, what am I saying, of course you have. You were not only an athlete in high school, but you were in a band. Girls must have been flocking to you," she said with a grin.

Smirking, he nodded; agreeing with everything she said. "It's true, but," His smirk faded and he looked down at his food, "it wasn't always what it was cracked up to be."

"No?"

He shook his head. "Not only was I on the basketball team in high school, but I was the captain and star forward. I was the highest on the high school social ladder. Then, when I started my band, my popularity skyrocketed and I was practically worshipped. I got so caught up with it that I didn't realize that not everyone wants to be your friend for free."

"Too many fakes?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I didn't know what girl wanted to be with me because of who I was or what I was known for."

"What about college? Was it the same way?"

"No, actually. College, I actually got a break from all of the mayhem. I mean, not a day went by where I was approached by fans, but they didn't treat me like I was above them. I was just a regular guy to them."

"Then the girls were also better."

"They were," he said with a nod.

"How long did they last?"

"Honestly, none of them were that serious. There was one girl that I thought would become serious, but our relationship never really got off the ground, but we stayed friends afterwards."

"So you've never actually been in a real relationship?"

"Once. She was in high school. She was the only one that I felt wasn't using me for her own agenda. We lasted a good few months before she ended things because it turns out she was in love with my best friend."

"Ouch. That must have hurt."

"Not really, no." He took another bite out of his burger and waited until he swallowed before continuing. "I mean, I had feelings for her, but somehow I knew that she didn't return them. So, I let her go. It didn't even faze me when she started dating my best friend a few months later."

"Are they still together?"

"They are. Engaged actually."

"Really?" He nodded. "Lucky them." He shrugged it off as if it were nothing, but she could tell that he was a bit upset about it. "You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

"A bit, but like they say: you never forget your first love."

She smiled, sympathetically, and reached across the table, clutching his hand. "No, you don't, but you'll find someone better. Someone who will return those feelings and who will love you more than anything in the entire world. And when you find her, you'll never want to let her go no matter what."

Smiling, he turned his hand under hers and grasped her fingers. "Same goes for you."

Neither could deny nor admit to the sparks of electricity that flowed through them when fingertips met fingertips. It was a sensation that both enjoyed very much, but knew that they would have to separate sooner or later. She was the first to pull back, a soft blush on her face as she continued eating her food. His smile turned into a smirk when he noticed the pink tint that colored her cheeks, a small sense of pride in knowing he was the reason for it. Glancing up at her every few seconds, he returned to his burger, finishing it off in just a few more bites.

::

Gabriella, he found, was a slow eater when she wasn't all that hungry, but he didn't mind. It gave him ample opportunity to just watch her. He learned a few things about her facial expressions from his observations. When she was nervous, she bit her bottom lip. When she was in deep thought, she chewed the inside of her cheek. When she was amused, her lips upturned into a small smirk, almost as if she was trying to hold back. When she was concerned or worried, she wore a small frown. And when she was confused, the one he had learned hours before, she scrunched up her nose. It was like reading a book. She wore her emotions on her sleeve.

When, finally, she finished her food, she slipped away to the restroom and he asked for the check. Ida came back with it before Gabriella returned and set it in front of him.

"Road trip with your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, she's not my girlfriend."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "I would have never guessed with the way you two act. You both seem so comfortable with each other."

"Believe it or not, we actually just met last night."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I offered her a ride to New York after all flights heading in that direction were cancelled."

"Because of that storm?" He nodded. "Be careful then. You just missed it by an hour when you got here, but there's still a possibility that you could run into it."

"We'll make sure to drive safely."

She smiled and noticed that Gabriella was returning. "If you ask me, though, you might want to ask her out _before _you get to your destination. A girl like that is not someone you should willingly let slip through your fingers." She walked away without another word, leaving Troy a bit speechless. He couldn't believe that the woman had picked up on the fact that he was, indeed, interested in the pretty brunette.

"Hey, you okay?" Gabriella asked, noticing the look on his face.

He shook himself out of his shocked state and nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at the check and saw that their food didn't cost much. Actually, it didn't even reach twenty dollars. "Ready to go," he said as he threw down two tens and a five.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to…"

Standing, he grinned and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her out of the diner. "I know, but I wanted to." He waved a small goodbye at Ida and exited back into the chilly temperatures of the Coloradan evening.

::

"You really didn't have to pay for me back there," Gabriella said, not taking her eyes off the road as they drove down the highway.

"I told you, I wanted to."

"I know, I know, I just…" She sighed, "I didn't want it to feel like a date or something, you know?"

"Just consider it me being a gentleman."

Glancing over at him, she smiled. "Well, then, thank you."

He returned the smile. "You're welcome," he said, trying to fight a yawn.

"Sure you don't want to go back to sleep?" she asked.

"I'm sure. I don't want to leave you to drive alone, not when there's a possibility we could run into that snow storm."

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Ida told me that we had just missed it by an hour, so there's a chance we could drive right into it at some point."

"Do you still want me to stop at the first motel we come across?"

"If you want. Depends on if you think you can drive a few more hours or not."

She nodded and returned her attention to the road. Wanting something to distract him, he turned back on the radio, this time switching to a weather station. The first one he found, he stopped and leant back to listen.

"_For anyone traveling the highways out there, please drive carefully. There are reports of ice on the pavements near Lexington, Nebraska. Also, there is a chance of more snow fall within the next hour as a second storm passes through the area."_

"A second one?" Gabriella questioned as she glanced at the radio. "They're kidding, right?"

"I don't think so."

"Mother nature just does _not_ like us, at the moment."

He chuckled."Apparently."

Taking a peek at the passing signs, she found one that pointed out an upcoming motel. "There's a roadside motel in another few miles. I think I'm going to stop there."

"Alright," he said with a nod. "If it's true what they say about a second storm, we don't want to be on the road when it happens."

Sighing, she, shakily, ran a hand through her hair, glancing out the window every few seconds. Her unsettling behavior didn't go unnoticed by the man sitting next to her. He became concerned by her nervousness and placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine"

He didn't believe her, but let it go, knowing that prodding her for information would get him nowhere except maybe with her hating him. Squeezing her shoulder, he silently reassured her and she turned to him. She graced him with a small smile, thanking him with her eyes, and he nodded in acknowledgment before dropping his hand. Turning back to the road, her smile stayed on her face, but faded slightly.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'll Be Home For Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: so I managed to get this out to you, but it's a page shorter than the last three. Anyway, I'm in a hurry. Going to my aunt's house. Merry Christmas, everyone! **

Chapter 4

As the pair continued traveling down the interstate, it didn't take them long that a couple of miles meant a couple of _long_ miles. They realized it when they noticed it was taking them forever to get where they wanted to go. Gabriella commented that it was like driving to the far end of Long Island; once you left Nassau county, the exits were all spaced out at long intervals. But, they found that didn't care as much. They passed the time spent recalling moments from their childhood that might have scarred them for life.

"I have the ultimate, _ultimate_ bad childhood experience," he said, "and there's no way you can top it."

"Depends on what it is."

"When I was seven, I walked in on my parents having sex."

She cringed and looked at him. "I'm sorry that you had to see that," she apologized, turning back to the road.

He laughed. "So am I. I couldn't sleep for weeks. Have you ever watched _That 70's Show_?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Ever seen that episode when Eric walked in on his parents doing it?" She nodded. "Well, I was like him except worse because I was only seven at the time. It scarred me without me even realizing it. I still get grossed out just thinking about it."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, when I was ten, my sister decided to tell me every gory detail about how making babies worked."

Unable to stop himself, Troy went into a fit of laughter. "You're kidding?"

"I am so serious. My sister is six years older than me, so she was sixteen at the time and, out of spite for something I did to her make-up kit, she went into explicit details about the act of sex. At the time, my mother was dating this guy and I was so horrified by what Rachel, my sister, had told me that I told my mother that I didn't want her doing that with her boyfriend. My mother was so angry with my sister that she grounded her for months."

"Karma at it's very best."

Gabriella grinned and nodded. "You have any siblings?"

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "Only child, and proud of it."

"You didn't get lonely as a child?"

He shook his head. "Not really. My best friend filled the spot of sibling for me. He and I were basically inseparable since Pre-school."

Smiling, she glanced at him. "Well, at least you didn't have to worry about sibling rivalry. My sister and I were constantly annoying each other. I know that my mom was happy when Rachel finally went away to college. No more listening to her daughter bicker over nothing."

"Sounds like fun."

"It was, actually," she said, a small smile on her face as she reminisced about all of the arguments she and her sister used to get into.

There was this gleam in her eyes, one that made her chocolate irises sparkle and caught his attention without even trying. He found it hard to look away from her. He didn't even realize that he had been staring at her until she spoke up about it. Smirking, he responded with a quick 'nothing' and looked out the window.

"Hey," he said, noticing something falling from the sky. "It's snowing."

"What?" Her voice went higher than normal as she paid more attention to the snowflakes falling outside the windows. "It…it can't snow. Not now."

Turning to the woman beside him, he noticed the frightened look on her face. He became increasingly concerned about her sudden change of behavior. "Gabriella, what's wrong?"

"I-I can't drive in this; I just can't."

"Then pull over and we'll switch."

She shook her head. "I-I…"

"Gabriella," he said, placing his hand over hers on the steering wheel, "just take a deep breath, put on the hazard lights and pull over to the side of the road." Nodding, she quickly turned on the hazard lights and moved to the side of the highway before coming to a complete stop. "Now, we'll switch."

"Troy," she said, stopping him from exiting the car. He looked at her and she met his gaze. "I can't move."

"Alright, just…just stay put, I'll come around and help you."

Quickly, he climbed out of the car and rushed to the driver's side. When he opened the door, he noticed that she seemed to be hyperventilating. He knelt down to her level and grasped her hand. At the sudden contact, she snapped out of her daze and looked at him. Seeing the panic in her eyes, he knew that there was no way she was getting out of the car unless he carried her. He grabbed her legs and wrapped his other arm around her back, lifting her from the seat and into the cool night air. He closed the door with his hip and carried her to the other side, setting her down into the passenger's seat and strapping her in. Once he had her door closed, he ran back to the driver's side and climbed in. Putting on his seatbelt, he put the car in drive and started down the highway. He glanced over at Gabriella to see how she was and she still seemed a bit frightened. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand and held it tight. Seeming to come out of her daze, her eyes snapped to their joined hands before looking at him and smiling in gratitude. He smiled back and turned his attention to driving through the storm.

::

It took Troy a bit longer to get to the motel than he wanted to, but he did not want to run the risk of sliding off the road. So he took his time, all the while making sure that Gabriella was okay. She seemed to have improved a bit, though he wondered if it had anything to do with his reassuring hand that was laced with hers the entire drive. When they pulled up to an empty parking space within the motel's lot, Troy turned off the engine and turned his head to the woman beside him. Her gaze was focused outside the window as she stared at the falling frozen water. He looked down at his hand that was now encased between both of hers. He squeezed the one he was holding to capture her attention and she turned towards him, her brown eyes silently questioning him.

"Are you okay with staying here, or do you want to go into the front office with me?"

"Um," she started, biting her lip, "I think I'll go with you."

He nodded and gave her hand one last squeeze before, slowly, removing his. Quickly, he exited his car and watched as she followed; hugging her jacket close to her body as the wind picked up. He went to meet her around the front of the car and ushered her towards the door of the office, knowing it would be warmer inside. There was a man reading a magazine when they walked in, his head only lifting when he heard the door close. He smiled at them and stood up straight.

"Good evening. How may I help you?"

"I would like to rent a room for the night," Troy said.

"Just one?" Gabriella questioned, looking into his eyes.

His eyes widened, realizing the implication of just getting one room. "Oh, um…if you want your own, I could get two."

"Troy, I told you, you don't have to pay for me. I have money, you know."

"I know, I just…" He scratched the back of his neck; a nervous habit of his. "I was just being nice, but if you want to pay for your own room, go right ahead."

She frowned slightly, not liking the tone in his voice. "Troy…"

"Can I just get a room?" Troy asked the guy, cutting her off from whatever it was she was about to say. The man, after looking between the pair in front of him, nodded. Troy stepped around Gabriella and went to pay for his room. "Thank you," he said after being handed his room key.

"What about you, sweetheart; you going to get a room?" the man asked Gabriella, who was still staring at Troy's back. She snapped out of it when the employee spoke to her and looked at him.

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess so." She stepped up to the desk and pulled out her wallet to pay for her own room. She side-glanced at Troy and opened her mouth to say something to him, but he walked away before she could get a chance.

Troy walked out back into raging snow storm and went to his car. He opened the trunk and pulled out both his and Gabriella's suitcase. When she appeared at his side minutes later, he handed it to her and walked off. He knew that he had no reason to be angry with her, but he was. He couldn't even tell you what it was about the situation that made him so upset. He just knew that the best thing was to get inside his hotel room and just cool off. Once he had done that, he would apologize to her for acting the way he was. Stopping at the door, he placed the key into the lock, but waited until he saw Gabriella go inside her own room. She didn't look at him as she went into her room, but he could tell that she was upset and when she slammed her door, he knew he was right. Sighing, he opened his door and went inside, turning on the lights and dropping his bag to the floor.

He had to make the best of this night because they wouldn't be stopping at another motel. There was just no time. Slipping off his sneakers, he took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair in the small seating area of the room. In need of a shower, he headed to the bathroom and started the water.

::

Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder, Troy felt ten times better when he stepped out of the shower. Walking back into the main area, he went for his suitcase to search for pajama pants and a shirt to put on for the few hours that he was going to spend in the hotel room. As he was getting ready to change, a knock came at the door. He quickly put on his pants and walked to the door as he placed the shirt over his head. When he opened the door, he was slightly surprised to find Gabriella on the other side. His blue eyes expressed curiosity, but her brown ones were too busy gazing at his naked torso as her cheeks began to turn a scarlet color. He realized his half-nakedness and quickly finished putting on his shirt; knocking her out of her trance.

"You need something?" he asked, not meaning for it to come out as harsh as it did and he regretted it when he saw her finch.

"I just…I'm sorry," she said, looking into his eyes. "I know that you've just been trying to be nice to me and I should be grateful, I just…"

He sighed. "It's okay, Gabriella. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I, honestly, don't know _why_ I acted that way."

She bit her lip and fidgeted with her fingers. "D-Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, not at all." He stepped aside and allowed her entry. She walked through the door and he closed it behind her.

"You're lucky."

"How so?" he asked, wondering what she meant.

"You have only one bed."

"He gave you a room with two?" She nodded. "That makes no sense."

"I, honestly, do care because it's a bed, but…I would have liked to have a queen sized bed to stretch out on."

"Wanna switch rooms?"

She shook her head. "No, I couldn't do that to you."

He grinned. "Believe me, Gabriella, it makes no difference to me what size the bed is. If you want to stretch out on this one, be my guest and I'll take your two twin beds."

"I can't. I'd feel bad."

Shrugging, he walked over to the bed and made himself comfortable on it. "If you say so." He noticed that she was staring longingly at the large bed. He smirked and patted the space beside him. "Come. Sit. Stay a while."

Nodding absentmindedly, she took a seat at the edge of the bed. "How long do you think the storm's going to last?"

His smirk slipped off his face as he stared at the side of her face. "I don't know, but I don't think it'll get any better since we're basically chasing behind the first one and in the middle of the second one."

She groaned and he sat up, remembering her freak out from earlier. "What was that earlier, by the way?"

It was like watching a bat closing its wings to sleep, the way she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective stance. Clearly, something was wrong. He moved up beside her and rubbed her back, trying to provide as much comfort to the brunette as possible. Taking her hand, he laced his fingers through hers and stroked the back of it with the pad of his thumb. She turned to him, her brown eyes full of sorrow as she locked gazes with him.

"It's better to tell than to keep it locked up," he said, smiling softly.

Closing her eyes, she sighed and started recalling the reason why she freaked out earlier. "My mom…_died_ in a car accident when I was fifteen." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "It was after one of my dance recitals. It was snowing and the roads were icy, but because of all the snow, it hid the ice from plain view. My mother didn't see the black ice and we skidded off the road and into a tree. She died instantly. I was lucky enough to get out with just a concussion and a broken arm, but…I've been afraid of driving during a snow storm since."

"So when you said you were visiting your mom, you meant…?"

She nodded. "Her grave. I hadn't always lived in New York. I actually live in California for a while and it was while I lived there that it happened. My mother had rented a cabin for us to spend Christmas in at Lake Tahoe and we were heading there after my recital when it happened."

He wasn't sure what came over him, but he was unable from stopping himself from kissing her forehead. It just felt like the right thing to do. When he pulled back, he found her smiling at him, her brown eyes expressing thanks. He smiled back and reached up to wipe her tears away; tears that she hadn't even realized had fallen. Truly thankful, she leant her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. They sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. He looked down at the woman leaning on his shoulder and found her sound asleep. Smiling, he, carefully, lifted her onto the bed and laid her down. He moved her hair from her face before reaching into her pocket to retrieve her room key.

Silently, he left the room and returned with her things. After setting them down next to his own, he walked back to the bed and laid down beside the sleeping woman. Knowing that the wouldn't be able to sleep long, he took out his phone and set the alarm for five hours later. He placed it on the bedside table and turned off the light. His blue eyes shone in the darkness as he stared at Gabriella and he continued to do so until he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

::

His eyes opened of their own volition for some unknown reason and he found himself sprawled out on his back, staring at the dark ceiling above. Reaching over to the bedside table, he grabbed his phone and checked the time. He had another ten minutes before the alarm went off. Figuring he wasn't going to go back to sleep, he went to get up to get himself ready, but found something warm and heavy lying on his chest. Confused, he gazed into the darkness and faintly made out the outline of the top of Gabriella's head. His breath hitched as he realized her close proximity; the feeling of her head and hand resting just above his heart. He silently hoped that his fast beating heart wouldn't wake her. In all honesty, he didn't want to wake her, but he knew he needed to get up. Staring down at the beautiful brunette, he removed pieces of hair from her face and traced his finger along her cheek. She stirred at the feather light touch, but didn't wake.

"Gabriella," he whispered, trying to wake her, but she only responded by burying her face into his shirt. "I'll let you sleep if you move onto the pillow."

She groaned and slid off of him. He chuckled and stood, walking over to his suitcase to get clean change of clothes. He, then, retreated to the bathroom and allowed the brunette to sleep for a little while longer. Taking a quick shower, he wasn't expecting Gabriella to be awake, albeit only slightly, and staring at his phone when he walked out the bathroom.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"The phone woke me up. I went to turn it off when I realized that…it's not my phone. And I'm not in my room."

"You're right, that's my phone and you're in my room."

"Why am I in your room?"

He grinned. "You fell asleep here."

"I did?" she asked, her eyes widening and he nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's no problem. I actually didn't mind it."

"I should probably go change." She got up, ready to head for her own room, when she noticed her things on the floor next to his. "You went to get my stuff."

He nodded. "I didn't want to leave them in there without someone to watch over them."

Turning her head to him, she smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he answered, smiling in return. "You better go get changed."

Nodding, she walked to her bags to retrieve clean clothing and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. When she came out a few minutes later, Troy was seated on the bed, staring at the floor. He lifted his head when he heard the door open and smiled at her. He stood as she neared closer to him.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me put this stuff back in my bag," she said, referring to the toiletries in her hands.

After she placed everything back into her suitcase, she zipped it up and turned to Troy who held out her jacket for her to take. "You sure this is heavy enough?" he asked.

"Probably not, but for now, it's all I have. Besides, we're going to be in the car, so I won't be outside for long."

"If you say so. Alright, how about you go return the keys while I put this stuff in the trunk." She nodded and opened the door, allowing him to leave first. It didn't take long for him to load the bags in the back of the car nor did it take long for her to return the room keys to the front desk. They were ready to head back on the road within minutes. "Still want me to drive?"

"Yeah. I'm just…not comfortable driving right now."

He completely understood her hesitation. Without saying another word, he climbed into the driver's seat and looked over at Gabriella. "Ready?"

"Let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

**I'll Be Home For Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I am so, so,_ so_ sorry for making you guys wait for this. Here's what happened. The week after Christmas, my best friend slept over for a couple of nights and then I went to visit my aunt for New Years. On top of that, I was not satisfied with what I wrote, so this chapter has been rewritten so many times, I lost count. So, here it is. Late, but better late than never right? I'm trying to decide if I will end this story in the next chapter or give you all another one(though if I do that, this story might not finish until February). Anyway, feel free to point out spelling/grammatical errors.****  
><strong>

Chapter 5

This had to have been his most stupid moment ever.

His fingers were aching as the mix between the freezing temperatures and the cold metal made contact with his appendages. Why hadn't he thought to put on his gloves _before_ deciding to fill his empty gas tank? He swore that they were going to fall off at some point. Staring at the moving numbers on the gauge, wishing for them to move faster, he failed to notice the approaching brunette, whose eyes conveyed concern for the pained look on his face. Taking her gloved hand from her pocket, she touched his shoulder and startled him slightly.

"Shit, Gabriella, you could warn me next time."

"Sorry," she said, giving him an apologetic smile. "You okay?"

"Well," he started, "besides the fact that I'm pretty sure my fingers are about to fall off, I'm good. Just fucking great."

A small frown replaced her smile and she removed her gloves. He watched in curiosity as she rubbed her hands together and placed them over his. He felt her body heat warm his frozen skin and felt his body temperature rise significantly from the sudden contact. He was reminded of his teenage years when the touch from his first serious girlfriend brought a sudden increase in his body temperature. She hadn't noticed that his eyes were on her as she slowly rubbed her hands on his, trying to warm him up.

"Gabriella." She looked up, her gaze searching his. His mouth opened slightly, but closed as he decided not to speak what was on his mind. "Nevermind."

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." Noticing that the numbers on the gauge had ceased, he looked at her hands, hoping that she would understand without him needing to voice it. She quickly removed them and stuck them into her pockets as he returned the nozzle to its holding base. Just as he turned to open the door, her voice stopped him and he glanced in her direction.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Can you ask it when we're in the car? It's kind of freezing out here."

She nodded and walked around to the driver's side. After they pulled out of the gas station and was well on their way, he expected her to ask whatever it was she wanted to ask him before, but she stayed silent.

"So," he started, "what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, I…" She bit her lip. "I just wanted to know how much longer we have before we reach New York."

"Shouldn't be long now," he answered, glancing at the clock. "Nineteen hours tops." Nodding, she turned her gaze to the world passing them by. Feeling that her question about how much longer this road trip was going to take wasn't what she wanted to ask, he tried to get her to tell him what it really was she wanted to know. "That's not _really_ what you wanted to ask me, is it?"

"No, it was," she answered rather quickly.

"Gabriella, just ask me."

"Only if you promise to actually answer it and answer it truthfully."

"I promise," he said, though with much hesitation. He had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to like what she had to ask.

She stayed silent for a while; opting to just staring at him before speaking up. "What happened?"

He glanced at her, uncertain of the question. "Gabriella, I think you're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"I mean," She sighed, "you told me that you don't go home very often, and if your tone was any inclination when you said it, you really meant that you haven't gone home at all since you graduated UCLA. Why? What happened to prevent you from visiting your parents?"

He really didn't expect for her to inquiry about that certain subject of his life. In all honesty, he hadn't even realized she picked up on the tones in which he spoke with. He guessed she observed him just as much as he observed her. Breathing deeply, his eyes darted from the front window to her face and back. He didn't want to answer, but he promised he would. And besides, she opened up to him about something that happened in her life; it would be rude not to return the favor.

"Remember when I told you I was in a band in high school?" She nodded. "Well, I was planning on it to become my career. I even majored in music theory in college. It was the only life that I wanted to live and I didn't care what my dad had to say about it. I still played basketball to make him happy, but music was my passion." He looked over at her; those dark eyes telling him to continue. "In my Junior year, I was noticed by an NBA scout and they wanted to draft me, but I turned them down. When my dad found out, all hell broke loose. We ended up getting into a fight when I came home that Christmas break. My mom tried to stop us, but it was no use. All those pent up emotions went off like a bomb and, soon, we were full out fist fighting." The light color of his eyes went dark as he recalled the moments afterwards. "She tried to physically stop us, getting in between us to keep us apart, and I…I hit her. I didn't mean to, it just happened. We were all in shock by what I did, but my dad was the first one to snap out of it. He looked at me, nothing but disgust written in his eyes that looked so much like mine, and said to me, 'get your shit and get the fuck out of my house.' I didn't bother hesitating. I quickly grabbed my unopened suitcase and left."

"And you haven't been back since?"

He shook his head. "No. Every time I think about going back…I flashback to that night and relive the hurt in my mother's eyes and it stops me. That, and the fact that I know my father will never forgive me for what I did."

"He will. He's your father."

Grinning sadly, he turned to her. "You don't know my dad. He likes to hold grudges for a very long time. He still hasn't forgiven his best friend since the third grade for dating my aunt."

"Seriously?"

Nodding, he turned back to the road. "I know. It's a weird thing to stay mad at someone about, but, like I said, he loves to hold grudges."

"That night, was that when you decided not to go into the music business?"

"No. That decision was made at a later date and had nothing to do with what happened that night."

"Oh. Then what made you give up music?"

"Well, to be honest, I haven't totally given it up. I teach guitar to anyone who wants to learn when I have the time."

"So, why did you chose a different career path?"

He shrugged. "I knew that it would take a while, if ever, for me to actually score a record deal and living in Los Angeles is not cheap. So, I changed my major at the last minute to marketing. Of course, it meant spending another year in school, but I had managed to get an internship that turned into a full fledge job when I graduated."

"So, when you said you grew up, you meant…?"

"I meant that I realized my dad was right."

"Meaning?"

Sighing, he switched lanes before answering her. "When I first decided to major in music, he told me that one day I would grow up and realize that what I was pursuing wasn't worth the fight. And that's exactly what I did."

"Troy…" He spared a glance her way. "You gave up something that was important to you because you didn't want to fight for it? That doesn't sound like the guy I know."

Grinning bitterly, he placed his elbow against the window and leant his head against his hand. "Well, you don't exactly know me, do you?"

Gabriella recoiled and nodded. "You're right. I don't. But the Troy I've gotten to know in the past day doesn't seem like someone who would give up without a fight. Then again, you willingly let someone you loved go without putting up a fight, so I guess I should have known better than to assume something."

The conversation had turned toxic and he knew that if he chose to respond to her, the words that would escape his lips would not be too pleasant. So he kept his mouth shut and kept his eyes on the road. But she hadn't caught onto his use of self-control and continued to tread dangerous waters.

"Nothing else to say? Is it because you know I'm right? Or…"

"For the love of God, Gabriella, if you don't shut up, you won't like anything that comes out of my mouth."

She kept her next thoughts to herself and turned away from him; preferring to stare out the window than to look at the man beside her. The tension that occupied the air in the car was so thick that you could cut it with a butter knife. And it stayed that way for the next ten hours until they reached Elyria, Ohio.

::

To say he missed her voice was a bit of an understatement. He'd gotten so used to hearing it over the past day and a half and wished that she would say something to him. But he knew in order for her to say something to him, he needed to say something first. He didn't know what to say, though. Should he apologize? No, because it wasn't his fault the argument started. Okay, maybe it was _kind of_ his fault, but he wasn't going to be the first to apologize. If she hadn't have assumed, he wouldn't have gotten mad and the argument could have been avoided. Still… Glancing over in her direction, he saw that she had her head leaning against the window and her eyes closed. Was she asleep, or… He reached over and touched her arm, lightly. If she was awake, she didn't let him know that. She stayed unmoving.

"Gabriella," he called, but she didn't respond. "Come on, Gabriella, I know you're up. I need to talk to you."

"Unless it's to say that 'you're sorry,' I don't wanna hear it," she answered, keeping her eyes sealed shut.

"Why do I have to be the one to apologize?"

She opened her eyes and faced him. "Because it's your fault!" The tone of her voice made him cringe. "You became mad over nothing!"

"No, I became mad because you decided to assume you knew shit about me when you don't."

"Well, sorry for believing that you were the type of person that wouldn't just give up when he didn't think that it would work out in the end."

"You're forgiven."

If looks could kill, he knew he'd be dead by now. "You know what, Troy? Screw you. From here on end, don't speak to me. The minute we enter the city, drop me off at the nearest subway station and I'll make my way home on my own."

She said nothing more. Turning back to the window, she stared out of it with a fierce glare and ignored the feel of his eyes on her. He hadn't meant to make her this mad, hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. Sighing, he shifted his attention back to the road. He didn't know what he could do to fix this. Focusing on the road, he tried to think of a way to right things and he knew he had to figure it out before they reached New York City.

::

Pulling into the parking space, Troy didn't even get a chance to turn off the car before Gabriella got out, slamming the door behind her. He watched her walk towards the building that housed only restrooms, never once turning back. With a sigh, he got out and ran after her. When he reached her, he grabbed her wrist and made her face him. There was venom in her chocolate eyes, making them darker than they really were. His own electric blues expressed guilt as he stared down at her.

"Gabriella, can we please talk?"

"Didn't I make myself clear that I do _not_ want to talk to you anymore? Or do I have to repeat myself?"

"I just…"

She put a hand up, stopping him from continuing. "I _don't_ want to hear it." Snatching her arm from his grasp, she gave him one last seething look before walking away.

::

"How long?" she asked, her voice breaking the silence.

He glanced over quickly before turning his eyes to the GPS. "Four hours at most," he answered, hoping that the conversation wouldn't end there. But when she didn't say anything else, he knew that meant all talking was done. He sighed and moved his gaze to the road. "Gabriella, I'm sorry."

"Oh, now you want to apologize? Well, guess what, the opportunity for me to forgive you has passed." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared out at the passing scenery.

"Gabriella, please, I…"

She turned on the radio and turned it up loud. Annoyed, he switched it off and tried to talk, but she pulled out her headphones and increased the volume on her iPod to drown him out. He groaned and, reluctantly, focused on the road. He couldn't believe she was this stubborn. In need of a quick fill-up, he pulled into a roadside gas station and watched as she got out; saying nothing to him. He shook his head as he climbed out of his car and walked to the gas pump. As he finished filling his tank, Gabriella walked out of the store, her eyes focused on the car. Quickly, he closed the tank and went to intercept her before she could get back in. Her russet eyes glared at him, silently telling him to move, but he wasn't going to. He needed her to see that he wasn't going to back down from this; wasn't just going to give up like he would have done. He was tired of not fighting for what he wanted.

"Troy, move, I'm not in the mood."

"Not until you hear me out." With a roll of her eyes, she crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. "I really am sorry about the things I said and I just want you to forgive me. The past few hours of you being mad at me has been the worst time of my life and I want it to end."

"I have a right to be mad at you, Troy."

"I know you do, but I don't want you to be mad anymore. Look," he said, running his fingers through his hair, "what will it take for you to forgive me?"

"I, honestly, don't know."

"Well, when you find out, please tell me." Reaching up, he took her face in his hand and brushed the pad of thumb against her cheek. "I don't want us to go back to being strangers when this is all over with. So, I hope that you find it in you to forgive me."

"I don't know if I can."

Feeling as if he were just burned, he stepped away from her, his hand falling away from her face, and walked back to the driver's side, his heart feeling like it weighed a ton within his chest. It shouldn't have surprised him that she wouldn't immediately forgive him. He had really hurt her in their last argument and it didn't help that he refused to apologize in the beginning. He would understand if she never wanted to see or speak to him again, but he hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

"Do you still want me to drop you off in the city when we get there? I could take you home. It's no problem to me."

She sighed and agreed. "Fine."

::

Sometime during the remaining time left on their travels, Gabriella fell asleep, leaving Troy to drive alone in the dark. By the time he reached the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border, it had begun to snow once more, causing him to slow his speed so the car wouldn't slide off the road. He tried not to glance over at the sleeping brunette, but he couldn't help himself. The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous he became. What would happen when they got to her door? Would she decide that he wasn't worth keeping in touch with? That he wasn't worth forgiving?

It was mostly smooth sailing as he drove down I-80. It wasn't until he got closer to the George Washington Bridge that he ran into a bit of traffic, but once he crossed over into The Bronx, traffic eased up. Before he knew it, he was crossing the Throgs Neck Bridge into Long Island and making his way towards the town of Hempstead, closer to the south side of the island. The beauty of the GPS system was that it led him straight to Gabriella's door. He sighed and prepared himself to wake the sleeping beauty beside him.

"Gabriella." He shook her lightly, waiting patiently as her eyes opened, slowly, and took in her surroundings. When they found his, she looked at him questioningly. "You're home."

She sat up and gazed out the window. "Already?"

"You were actually out for quite a while."

"It didn't feel that way," she commented as she stretched her stiff limbs, yawning in the process.

Without another word, Troy popped the trunk and got out. He was aware of her every move as he retrieved her suitcase from the back of his car. His body seemed to sense when she came to stand beside him, grabbing the bag from his hand. He looked up when her hand brushed his; his eyes found hers and she smiled, though it wasn't as sincere as he would have liked it.

"Are we…okay?" he asked, hoping that she'd say 'yes.'

"Somewhat. I'm still mad at you, though."

He nodded. "That's fine. As long as you forgive me…"

"Troy, I haven't actually forgiven you."

"What? But you said…"

"I'm kidding," she said, her smile a bit more sincere than it had been.

"That's just cruel." His eyes narrowed playfully.

She giggled and it was like music to his ears. "Thank you," she said after her laughter subsided, "for including me on this journey."

"You're welcome."

"Well, I should get inside before I freeze."

"And I should get to my parents' house before I get locked out."

The smile she graced him with was the same one he had the pleasure of seeing many times over the course of their road trip. It was one that made his heart stop. He reached up, subconsciously, and touched her cheek; his lips quirked when she leaned into his hand, eyes closing.

"Merry Christmas, Gabriella."

Brown met blue as she looked up at him, softening her gaze. "Merry Christmas, Troy."

She stepped away from him and he watched as she walked towards her front door, sparing him a backwards glance with every passing second. He waited until she was safe inside of her home before climbing back into his car and heading to his parents'.

::

It had been too long since he'd seen the façade of his childhood home, but he wasn't eager to exit his car and walk up to the door. He had to block out the voice that told him to turn the car around and find a hotel room instead. Sighing, he managed to get out and go to the trunk, pulling his suitcase out of it. It took everything in him to walk up the pathway to the front door and knock. He strained his ears to make out any sound that told him that someone was still awake. It was late, after all; nearing on eleven at night. When no one answered, he knocked again and tried the knob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. He stepped inside the dark house and looked around.

"Mom? Dad?"

He was met by silence and moved into the kitchen. On the refrigerator was a note, written in his mother's delicate handwriting. He placed his bags on the floor and snatched the piece of paper from the magnet holding it.

_Troy,_

_Your dad and I went to bed early. Sorry for not waiting up for you. There's leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry. I made up the bed in your old room, so feel free to use it. Oh, and I'm so glad you've come home. I've missed you so much._

_ -Mom_

He smiled at the note in his hand before folding it up and putting it in his pocket. He wasn't so hungry as he was tired. Grabbing his bags, he headed towards his old bedroom and relished in the fact that it remained unchanged. There were still posters on his wall from the bands he used to listen to and there were numerous trophies from competitions he'd participated in situated on shelves strategically placed around the room. He never thought he'd miss the place until he found himself standing in the doorway. Sighing, he placed his bags by the door and stripped out of his clothes, not bothering to change into something warmer. His mother constantly kept the house warm because she hated the cold. Closing the door, he made himself comfortable on his bed and counted the ceiling tiles until he passed out from exhaustion.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'll Be Home For Christmas**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So, I hadn't wanted this story to go into February, but it was out of my control. This is the last chapter of this story because I plan on doing a sequel to it, but that won't come until November. As you all probably know by now, Whitney Houston, a woman with a powerful voice and a music icon, has died this past Saturday. I was raised on her music and, although death is a part of life, it's still hard to see someone who impacted your life, albeit indirectly, die. So, I want to say that I hope she rests in peace and that she is reunited with her friend, Michael Jackson. On the brighter side of my week, I got to meet Vanessa Hudgens (fan girl moment) and I got her autograph. She is absolutely stunning in real life and her eyes are like...wow. And she's really sweet. Since Fanfiction has disabled all links on user profile pages, anyone who wants to see the pictures, the links will be at the bottom of the page.**

Chapter 6

Their hushed whispers were the only sound to penetrate the, otherwise, silent house. He knew that they were talking about him. It was hard to hear his name slip off of their lips every few seconds. He could only guess that his father was not at all pleased about his return. Honestly, he could care less about how him being home made his father feel. He came for his mother's sake, not his father's. Standing from where he sat on his bed, listening to his parents argue, Troy stood and wandered out to the kitchen. The voices stop as his footsteps echo off the wall and he entered the room where the tension was high.

"Morning," he says as he walks to the refrigerator.

"Morning, sweetie," his mother answers, smiling warmly at him.

His father says nothing, but acknowledged his son's presence with a grunt before picking up the magazine in front of him. Troy, essentially, ignored his father, truly not caring if the man decided to act this way. Of course, his mother doesn't like that he's being so inhospitable, but she doesn't voice it. Instead, she turned her full attention to her son.

"What time did you get in last night?"

"Eleven," he responded as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"How was the traffic?"

"It was fine up until I got to the bridge."

"That's good." She walked up to him, placing her hand on his cheek. "You don't know how much I've missed you, sweetheart."

He smiled and brought his mother into a tight embrace. "I've missed you, too."

"Bullshit," his father spoke, finally, ruining the mood between mother and son.

"Jack, don't start."

"What? All I'm doing is calling him out on his bullshit."

She tried to avoid the impending argument between her husband and her son, but Troy was seeing red at this point in time and the words to add fuel to the fire tumbled out of his mouth before she had time to intercede. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Troy, that if you truly missed your mother then you would have came home a long time ago. But you didn't. You decided to stay in California for the past seven years and not even bother to check up on her."

"You know why I didn't come back."

"I do," he answered with a nod, "and I still haven't forgiven you for it, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the only time we ever heard from you was when your _mother_ called, trying to convince you to come home. But did you ever? No, and if there was one thing that I hated more than you hitting your own mother, it was the fact that you had no regard to how she felt. That you were breaking her heart every time you declined to come home."

"Don't you think I wanted to come home?"

"No. Not by the way you were acting."

"Well, I did. But do you know why I didn't?" His father stayed quiet. "I didn't because I knew that you wouldn't stop blaming me for what I did. I knew that you would forever hold that grudge against me and I just didn't want to deal with you. Unfortunately, my desire to avoid you meant having to stay away from Mom and I didn't realize it until recently that I was tired of not seeing her. So, that's why I'm here, because I, honestly, don't care if you hate me for hitting her. I'm tired of caring what you think of me."

His father said nothing. Instead, he returned to reading his magazine. Sighing in disappointment, his mother turned and smiled at him, almost as if trying to apologize for his father's behavior. He smiled back and shook his head. She had nothing to apologize for. Running his hand through his hair, he quickly finished his glass of orange juice and started towards his room.

"Do you want breakfast, honey?" she asked.

"No thanks, Ma. There's, uh, someone I need to talk to."

He knew his mother was staring at his back with a confused expression on her face, but he had not time to explain to her what really happened on his journey home. He had no time to tell her about the amazing woman that he met and traveled with from one side of the country to the other. The minute he returned to his room, he pulled out clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. It took fifteen minutes to shower, dress and get himself ready to leave. After telling his mother that he would be back in a little bit, he took off in his car in the direction of Hempstead and silently prayed that the brunette was still home.

::

Almost twenty minutes later, Troy was pulling up to the same house from last night, this time getting a good look at it. The modest size home was two stories, made completely of red bricks with white windows and blue shutters. It was one of those old colonial homes that were hard to find anyplace outside of an old colonial town. He wondered how she was able to afford the place on her own. Walking up the pathway to the front door, he knocked and waited for an answer. Moments later, the door opened and he was greeted by the sight of a little girl staring up at him. She must have been Gabriella's niece visiting for Christmas.

"Hi," she said, her brown eyes blinking innocently.

"Hi," he responded before kneeling down in front of her, smiling. "I'm looking for your aunt. Is she here?"

She shied away before shaking her head. "No. Auntie Gabi went to the store."

"Allison, who's…" The woman, who he could correctly assume was Gabriella's sister, appeared and smiled, tentatively, at him. He rose and smiled back. "Ally, why don't you go play with your toys." The little girl nodded before disappearing into another room. "Uh, hi. May I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Gabriella."

"She's not here at the moment. Who are you?"

"Oh," he started, holding out his hand, "I'm Troy. I'm a friend of hers."

She shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rachel, Gabriella's sister."

"Nice to meet you, too. Do you, um, know when she'll be back?"

"She should be back soon. You can come in and wait for her, if you want."

"Sure."

He stepped inside and looked in awe at the interior of the home, still looking as if it were straight out of the 1700s. Glancing off to the left, he found what could only be explained as the living room where a six foot Douglas fir tree stood alit next to an elegant fire place with picture frames littering the mantle. Beneath the tree was the adorable brunette girl that he'd met only seconds before. Rachel walked around him and beckoned him further inside. He followed and took a seat next to her on the couch while Allison played with her gifts only a few feet away.

"So, how do you know my sister?"

"Uh, well, I met her in the airport two days ago and…"

"Oh! So, you're the guy she drove here with." He nodded and she smiled. "She said you were cute, but she say _how_ cute."

Blushing slightly, he hadn't expected Gabriella to talk about him to her sister, much less talk about the fact that she thought he was good-looking. "Uh…t-thanks?"

Before he could get a chance to feel fully uncomfortable, the door opened and his head turned just as Gabriella walked in. Allison was the first one to greet her, helping her to fail to notice the blue-eyed male. She smiled and walked into the living room with Allison at her heels. When her head rose, she stood shocked by the sight of Troy sitting beside her sister. He smiled and waved at her.

"Troy? What are you doing here?"

He stood. "Do you mind if we talk?"

"Um, sure, just let me…" She held up the grocery bags in her hands.

"I'll take care of those," Rachel said, grabbing the bags from her sister and disappearing into the dining area off to the right of the staircase, leaving Troy and Gabriella alone with Allison completely engrossed with playing with her toys once more.

"How about we go for a walk," she suggested and he nodded, following her out into the nippy December air.

::

"So," she said after minutes of complete silence, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"How come you told me you didn't live with your sister?"

"I don't." He gave her a look of disbelief. "Alright, alright." She sighed. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Well, one, I don't believe that you can afford a house like that on your own. Two, your sister and her daughter were in their pajamas. Three, I saw a picture of her and her husband sitting on the mantle of them in front of the house." He stopped and turned to her. "Why'd you lie to me?"

She shrugged and grinned. "If you were me, would you tell an attractive guy that you live with your sister and your niece?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I guess not."

"Besides, I wasn't the only one who lied," she said, crossing her arms. He grinned as he scratched his neck, nervously, as he realized she was talking about his lie that he fed her about his reluctance to return home.

"Hey, at least I came clean about it."

"Yeah, after I had to coerce it out of you." Sighing, she tilted her head and dropped her arms. "Enough stalling, Troy. Why are you here?"

"I told you, to talk to you."

"About what? And I'm pretty sure that it had nothing to do with me lying about living with my sister. So, what's the real conversation you want to have?"

He sighed. "Alright, I just…I didn't feel right last night. I felt like we still had a few things left unresolved. Truth is, Gabriella…I really like you. I don't know what it is, but there's something about you, something I can't quite explain, that makes me feel something I've never felt before. I know that we've only known each other for two days, but I can't change whatever this is that I can't get rid of whenever I think of you. I know that you have this idea in your head that I don't fight for anything, but I promise that if you give me a chance, I'd fight for you. I'd fight for us."

She stared into his blue eyes, searching for truth. Nothing in his gaze told her that he was lying and it caused a smile to break out on her face. Reaching up, she touched her fingers to his cheek and nodded. "Okay."

Shock and disbelief crossed him. "Really?"

"Really."

He grinned before grabbing her around her waist and lifting her off her feet. She giggled as he spun her around twice before putting her down. "You won't regret it, I promise."

"I hope I won't," she said, grabbing his hand. "I should get back."

Nodding, he intertwined his fingers with hers and they turned to head in the direction of her sister's home. Once they reached the front door, she glanced up at him, biting her lower lip. He knew that look. She was thinking about something; contemplating something. His brow lifted, silently questioning her.

"Do you, maybe, wanna stay a while?"

Smiling, he nodded. "Sure. Why not?"

Pulling on his hand, she led him inside. He followed, obediently, wanting to spend as much time as he could in her presence. He'd never been so happy in his entire life than he did at the moment when she told him that she would give him a chance.

::

After spending the morning and most of the afternoon with Gabriella and her family, Troy reluctantly returned home. He knew it was wrong of him to spend Christmas away from the person he came to see, but after his argument with his father, he needed time to himself. Upon stepping through the front door of his parents' home, he was bombarded by the smell of something cooking. He could only guess that his mother was in the middle of cooking dinner.

"Hey, Ma," he said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetheart. Where have you been?"

"At a friend's house."

"For the past few hours?"

"Well, her sister…"

"A girl, huh?" she asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"Mom." His face lit up like a stop light. "It's not…" He stopped himself, realizing it was exactly like she though. "Okay, maybe it is, but nothing happened."

"Uh-huh. And when I do I get to meet her?"

"Not for a long time."

"Why not?"

"Well…because, in all honesty, we just met. I mean, literally, we just met."

Upon seeing the curious look in his mother emerald eyes, he sighed and told her the entire story of how he dropped his phone and Gabriella picked up to return it to him and everything that came after. He, however, skipped over the part about them getting into an argument and ended it with going over to her house earlier to ask her out.

"And that's why I don't want you to meet her right now, because then you would be getting to know her the same time I would. Besides, introducing her now would be moving a bit too quickly."

She smiled and nodded. "I understand, Baby. One question, though: What's going to happen when you go back to L.A.?"

His eyes widened, completely forgetting about that detail. "I-I don't know. I hadn't thought about that," he answered, scratching the back of his neck, nervously.

"I suggest you figure it out before you go back."

He nodded and headed for his room. Once he was inside, he took out his phone and quickly dialed Gabriella's number.

"_Didn't I just get rid of you?" _she asked, amusement in her voice.

Grinning, he nodded before saying, "Yes, but I have a perfectly good reason for calling."

"_Oh? And what, pray tell, is that reason?"_

"Well," he took a seat on his bed, "I told my mom about you."

"_You did?"_ she asked, a sense of panic in her voice.

"Don't worry, Gabriella, you won't be meeting her any time soon and I made that clear to her."

"_Oh…well, that's good."_

He chuckled before remembering why he'd called her. "Anyway, she brought something to my attention." She remained silent. "What are we going to do when I go back to Cali?"

"_Crap. I hadn't thought of that."_

"Yeah, me either. I know it's going to be hard, but I think we should give this long distance thing a try. I really do want us to work."

She sighed and he could sense the smile in her voice as she spoke. _"So do I, Troy. When are you heading back?"_

"Well, I thought I'd just say until after the New Year."

"_Alright. Then we can spend time together over the next week and then I can go see you when the schools have mid-winter break and then maybe you could come see me some time in the spring and then I could visit in the summer. We can make this work."_

The grin on his face couldn't be helped. This woman, the one he'd just met only two days ago, was amazing and he hoped she realized it. "Thank you."

"_For what?"_

"For everything, really. For the entire trip here, for being a friend even though we know nothing about each other, and for…for opening my eyes and making me realize that I wasn't fighting for anything I wanted."

"_You're welcome, Troy."_ There was a bit of noise on the other end and he heard her sigh. _"I gotta go, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, right?"_

"Yeah. Night, Gabriella."

"_Night, and Merry Christmas."_

"Merry Christmas."

The minute he ended the call, he was aware of a presence in the doorway and looked up to see his father leaning against the door jamb. Both men stayed silent as blue stared into blue. After what seemed like forever, Troy's father moved out of the doorway and walked towards the nearest shelf cluttered with basketball trophies.

"I just don't understand it," he said, sighing.

"What's there to understand?"

"How could you give it all up? You had a chance, Son; a chance to play the game that you loved so much."

"But that's just it, Dad, I didn't love it as much. I only played it because I was good at it, but I didn't want to devote my life to it."

"No, you wanted to be a rock star," he said with sarcasm. "How did that go, by the way?"

Troy's eyes narrowed. "I didn't give up that dream because of you, so don't look so smug."

"Then why did you?"

He sighed. "It wasn't an easy decision, but I did it because living in Los Angeles wasn't cheap. I needed a good paying job once I graduated and I knew that, unless you made it big, musicians were underpaid."

"And what do you do now?"

"Sports marketing."

Nodding, his father walked over to him and took a seat. "Troy, son, you know that the only thing I've ever wanted for you was for you to have a good paying job doing something you love. That's why I pushed for basketball. I knew that you would be drafted out of college; that's how good you were, that's how much I believed in you. But then you decided to chase that dream about making it big in the music industry and I knew that it would be a lot harder for you to make it. Yes, you were good at that, too, but look how many people are out there that are good singers and don't make it. You had a better chance of being drafted than getting a record contract."

"Do you realize how much pressure you put on me, Dad? How much of a bully you became because I wouldn't follow your advice?"

Sighing, he looked down at the floor. "Yes, Troy, I'm aware of that. Your mother has scolded me many times over because of the way I acted towards you. But I just want you to understand that I did it for your own good."

"Yeah? Well, sometimes, what you think is best for me isn't what I think is best for myself."

"I know. I understand that now."

"Look," Troy said, running a hand through his hair, "I'll forgive you for all the shit you put me through, if you forgive me for what I did to Mom. I really didn't mean to hurt her."

"I know, son, I know. I forgive you. Besides, it's hard to hold a grudge against you when your mother constantly nags me about it. She won't let me stay mad at you. Hell, when you left, she tore me a new ass because of the way I treated you."

He chuckled. "That's Mom, for you. Ever the peace maker."

His father nodded. "With violent means," he said with a chuckle. "So, she's told me you met a girl."

Groaning, he dropped his head into his arms. "I just met her."

"Don't worry, I'm not as nosy as your mother. She does want to know, though, have you figured out what you and this girl are going to do when you go back to California."

"Tell Mom that we have it all figured out and for her not to worry."

"That's good. Well," he said as he stood, "I better go see if your mom's done with dinner, yet." Troy nodded as he watched his father walk to the door. Suddenly, the man stopped and turned to him. "It feels good to have you home, son."

Troy smiled. "It feels good to be home, Dad."

With a small smile, Troy's father turned and left the room. Lying back on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling, his lips still turned upward. He meant what he said. It really did feel good to be home. He missed it so much and cursed himself for avoiding it for seven years. All of this hostility between him and his father could have been solved much sooner, but his fear kept him from coming back. Not anymore, though. Now, he and his father were on good terms, his mother had never been mad at him so there was no problem there and he had a girl to come home to. Everything was right in the world. At least, in his world.

"Troy, dinner's ready!" his mother called.

"Coming!"

He sat up and stood, heading towards the kitchen. For the first time, in a long time, he was about to have dinner with his parents without any form of arguing or tension. Yep, everything was right in the world.

::

_I'll be home for Christmas_

_You can count on me_

_Please have snow and mistletoe_

_And presents under the tree_

_Christmas Eve will find me_

_Where the love light gleams_

_I'll be home for Christmas_

_If only in my dreams_

**Links to pictures. Remove all spaces**

i123 . photobucket . com/albums/o307/broken-hearted16/100_0878 . jpg

i123 . photobucket . com/albums/o307/broken-hearted16/100_0882 . jpg

i123 . photobucket . com/albums/o307/broken-hearted16/100_0886 . jpg

i123 . photobucket . com/albums/o307/broken-hearted16/blurryvanessa . jpg

i123 . photobucket . com/albums/o307/broken-hearted16/vanessa . jpg


End file.
